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Ptolemaic Egyptians/Strategic Overview
Strengths *Good economic bonuses *Strong wonder rushing propensity *Vast and highly flexible army *Good mix of mercenaries Weaknesses *Very predictable faction that is easy to counter *Weak early game play with initially costly units *Very Influence-dependent, which can potentially sap late game development. As inheritors of the Egyptian empire, the Ptolemaic Egyptians have a few cultural and economic powers that reflect well this golden heritage. An extensive tech tree, coupled with food and taxation bonuses — the mainstay of any real-life empire — all work to present a faction that on paper (at least) is the strongest faction in Kings & Conquerors. It has almost every single unit you can have for whatever purposes you want — heavy siege machines, all manner of infantry and cavalry, you name it.The Egyptian faction has cultural bonuses that support its ability to boom rather well. The ability to build 2 wonders per city, as opposed to just 1 will allow the Egyptian player a lead in a wonder race, while the extra food and wealth generated from agriculture will provide for an excellent platform to support the creation of a strong and variegated army. On the high seas, the Egyptian navy is also very much a match for most of the Greek factions who by far and large have the best vessels with regards to firepower. The only issue is that the Egyptians lack the use of Fire Rafts — but with so many more powerful warships, and Lemboi, why would you have to worry when you can create two Trenteremes, escorted with Lemboi? The Egyptians can very much obtain almost every unit that they could ever wish for, bar chariot-type units but if you have Phalangitai and efficient javelin horse and war elephants, why bother? Reaching that happy level in the game, however, requires time, and that may not be on the side of the Egyptians. For one, the Egyptian faction can't get cheap trash that easily — Machimoi or native Egyptian units, cheap and fast training as they may be, can't be obtained unless you have researched Democracy and Populism, then advanced along the Influence line to at least level 4. What exists on hand for rushing — the Araboi — comes at a very steep price in Wealth since Araboi recruitment can't be committed to on a piecemeal basis, although it can be argued that Araboi don't require so high a level in Military research to be accessed. Remove these units from the equation, and what you have is a traditional Greek core of heavy cavalry and infantry that while powerful, is not invincible if properly anticipated, ie light cavalry for cutting down light troops, and keeping a mix of light and heavy infantry to dispose of what Hetairoi and Phalangitai the enemy may throw at you. The early game for the Egyptians may be a struggle as while your units may be good, you may find yourself surrounded and pounded by your foes. Ultimately the Egyptian player requires careful planning and shrewd diplomacy in order to prevail. An alliance with a good rush-based faction that can throw out good early-game units, especially light cavalry, is thus necessary in order to keep more powerful foes at bay. An early game defensive strategy is necessary to keep your farms and the wealth they drag in to build up your economy as high as possible so that then you can begin the long trek towards raising your awesome army to overcome the rest of the world. Should you discover an enemy whio is using the Egyptians, remember to keep raiding the Egyptians as frequently and as intensely as possible, to prevent them from getting access to their more powerful units. Factions that use good light cavalry with a propensity for raiding, such as the Celtiberians, Lusitanians or Sarmatians, can really put a lot of hurt on the Egyptians. Category:Ptolemaic Egyptians